Thursday 7 May 2020

QRF Valentine III

The Valentine was the most numerous tank produced  by Britain and the Commonwealth, and many thousands were sent to Russia where they were surprisingly popular. The Russians were a bit confused how to classify them and eventually decided they were light tanks. They were valued for their reliability and relatively thick armour. I fancied adding one to my Russian forces and went for a Mk III. As I only needed one, I went for a QRF one rather than a box of plastic PSC ones.


It is a neat little model and sits well. The turret is a bit loose but nothing a bit of blu tak won't fix. There was a bit of flash and a few mould lines but nothing major. 


It comes with separate tracks and sandshields (which I didnt fit). The tracks went on easily enough, held in place with a bit of blu tak while they dried. 


The rear engine deck has lots of jazzy cooling vanes, ideal for a wash and a dry brush. 


And off it goes. As usual now, I just painted the tracks and running gear in mud. I did the body in British khaki drab rather than Russian Green as I had in mind a scenario which also required a green British Valentine. I'm sure the Russians didn't bother to repaint them. 

A nice little model, but for preference I'd get a plastic one as Zvezda do them too, but I was in a rush. 

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6 comments:

  1. Jonathan Freitag7 May 2020 at 03:33

    Nice looking model!

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    1. Martin Rapier7 May 2020 at 06:16

      Thanks. Now I'm wondering if I should have bought some plastic ones! It is a nice little model though.

      I'm trying to resist the temptation to redo all my 6mm desert stuff in 15mm.... (having had, and then sold, a load of 15mm desert stuff some years ago).

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  2. Nigel Drury7 May 2020 at 09:33

    I have the Osprey on lend-lease tanks and Zaloga has them in their original colours, other than when whitewashed for winter.

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    1. Martin Rapier7 May 2020 at 23:41

      That is generally the approach I take with Lend Lease stuff, unless there are any unit photos showing something obviously different.

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  3. Duc de Gobin7 May 2020 at 12:25

    Very nice. I do have a bunch of these unmade in 20mm - I should, as you point out, supplement my Soviets with them.
    ( I think the original plan was that they were headed for Greece or something ...)

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    1. Martin Rapier8 May 2020 at 00:10

      This one is actually for Bladeforce in Tunisia (they were painted green, unlike their pals in 8th Army) and it might come in handy as a command vehicle for a unit or Archers. If I whip the turret off, it can also become a Valentine bridge layer (equipped with one of my Leven bridges).

      So versatile.... but I expect it will actually end up escorting a bunch of grubby Russian cavalry men through Byelorussia.

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